Blizard is Wizard from Oz

in East of Scotland play-off

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Rohan Blizard, a 24-year-old globe-trotting golfer from New South Wales, came from Down Under to finish at the top in a dramatic climax to the 35th East of Scotland Open amateur golf championship, sponsored by the Bobby Jones Company, at Lundin Golf Club, Fife this evening.
Blizard, winner of the Australian and Tasmanian open amateur titles in 2007 and following in the 1998 footsteps of fellow Australian Brad Lamb - the only other overseas player to win the East title, was the Hammer of the Scots in the final countdown.
He tied with former British amateur champion Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) and young American college circuit player Peter Latimer (St Andrews New), pictured above, who is also a member of the Lundin club, on one-under-par 283 at the end of the regulation 72 holes.

Latimer has completed two years of a golf scholarship at Guilford College, North Carolina and won twice in America. This was his best performance on home links against this class of opposition.
Then the Wizard of Oz won a sudden-death play-off in which only the 18th hole was used.
Young Latimer, 20, from Markinch, who had done superbly to get into the play-off with the best two-round total by anyone on Sunday - a pair of 69s - was eliminated at the first play-off hole. He took a bogey 5 while Blizard and Watson both had par 4s.
Blizard and Watson did the same again at the second attempt and then the Australian triumphed at the third action replay with a par 4 to Watson's bogey.
And so a championship, shorn of the six front-line Scotland stars - off at the weekend to Italy for the European team championship, and some more who opted to play in the Scottish Challenge, finished up as even more exciting than usual.
South African Justin Turner, halfway leader on 141, was demoted after 54 holes by Blizard and former Scottish boys stroke play champion Steven McEwan (Caprington), who went to Lundin after failing to beat the cut in the Scottish Challenge at Cardrona.
But it was Latimer's surge through the field from joint 15th place at halfway with his two 69s to set the target of one-under-par 283 that was the talk of the clubhouse.
One by one the chasing pack failed to close the gap until Craig Watson did it with a closing 69.
The focus then switched to Blizard, two under par for the tournament at one stage, but eventually needing to birdie one of the last four holes to to get into the play-off.
He did it with a closing 72 and then won the play-off.